Chapter 1736: Veluriyam Snake Fish

While they were speaking, the Cloud Boat had already made it to the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost. They were immediately greeted by the sight of a bottomless chasm where the other shore was nowhere in sight.

Thick, dark fog could be seen churning out of the abyss at high volume and speed. Such was the force that they blocked out the sea water and prevented it from pouring into the abyss.

Strangely, the fog was clearly moving upward, but they, travelers standing at the edge of the abyss, were constantly moving closer to the center. It was as if the abyss was attempting to drag them into its belly.

“We’re moving toward the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost!”

Lingyu too noticed this and let out a cry of surprise. However, that same cry quickly turned into one of terror.

It was because she discovered that she could not halt her momentum even after employing all of her strength and using every method she knew of.

“Oh no no no! I can’t stop myself! What do we do?”

“Grandpa Turtle, sister Feng, save me!”

Ye Qing grabbed the flailing Lingyu—she was flapping her wings desperately in an attempt to get away—while perceiving the anomalous energies around him. He remarked, “What an anomalous power!”

The power was eerie, but not filthy. Dark, but not evil. It was strange, and it filled up the entire abyss. Even Sages like Ye Qing were unable to cut off the power completely.

This was because they were still a distance away from the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost too. It was not yet strong enough to pull them into the abyss.

It would be a different story if they were directly above the abyss. The strange power was greater and stronger there, and the deeper one fell into the abyss, the greater it became.

Old Man Turtle warned, “Be careful. Do

not

get close to the abyss. We can still resist it at this level, but once we cross a certain line, even we would be in danger.”

But just as Old Man Turtle said this, Ye Qing raised his left hand and curled his finger into a knock. Yin Yang Qi began cycling underneath his feet, creating yang from absolute yin and yin from absolute yang. The next moment, an inexplicably profound power washed out and wiped out the strange attraction by force.

“Innate Yin Yang Qi?”

When Old Man Turtle realized that the power tugging at his person disappeared and looked down at the cycling yin and yang qi underneath his feet, he exclaimed in shock, “As expected of the successor of the Earthly Sovereign! You are truly favored by the heavens and the Heavenly Way!”

His loss of composure wasn’t due to his lack of worldliness. It was because the Innate Yin Yang Qi was a spiritual air of Dao birthed by the world itself. An ultimate treasure of the world, it could only be obtained by those with great destiny and fortune.

Looking back in history, everyone who obtained such a treasure was all a famous or accomplished figure who was remembered for ages to come.

Take him for example. He was the bearer of the Hetu Spirit Turtle’s bloodline, but even he did not receive any blessing from the Heavenly Way or ultimate treasure of the world when he successfully overcame his tribulation and became a Sage. It was easily the thing that he regretted the most in his life.

However, the young man before him did not just possess the Innate Yin Yang Qi, but also the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. Both were ultimate treasures of the world. It was so rare that someone like Ye Qing might not appear even once in many ages.

Someone like him was guaranteed to have a bright, boundless future ahead of him. He might even surpass betters such as the Chief Libationist and climb to the pinnacle of the world one day.

Ye Qing replied modestly, “You flatter me, elder.”

Old Man Turtle broke out of his reverie and looked at the Yin Yang Qi underneath his feet again. He said wistfully, “The Innate Yin Yang Qi is said to contain the ultimate truths of promotion and restraint; yin and yang. From the union of yin and yang, it can create anything. I can tell that it deserves its reputation. To think it could restrain even the power of the Ghastly Abyss of the lost.”

“With this power, the abyss that might as well be the chasm of no return for most people is just another path for you. Even without my aid, you could have crossed it without trouble.”

Ye Qing reciprocated the compliment by saying, “It’s just brute force. It is nothing compared to your wisdom and experience.”

“Haha... That is only because I lived longer than you. Otherwise, how can I hope to compete against you youngsters?”

Old Man Turtle replied modestly, but it was clear from the way he was stroking his beard that he loved Ye Qing’s compliment.

“Can you two stop licking each other’s boots already? You’re giving me the shivers!”

Lingyu rubbed her arm and rolled her eyes at the two men trading professional compliments with each other. “Find a way to get us through already!”

“The hell are you saying? This isn’t licking each other’s boots. This is a compliment that comes from the bottom of our hearts; a proper show of appreciation of another’s qualities. You don’t understand anything at all.”

Ye Qing gave her a light bonk on the head before saluting Old Man Turtle. “I leave the rest to you, elder.”

“No problem.” Old Man Turtle nodded and opened his mouth. The next moment, an ancient, resounding roar escaped his throat.

A short while later, waves began rippling from the distant sea surface. At the same time, what looked like a bunch of translucent, colorful fishes with a fish’s head but a snake’s body swam toward them. They looked like they were made out of veluriyam.

Behind the school of fishes were a bunch of odd-shaped turtles. Regardless of their appearance, they were incredibly powerful.

It soon became clear that the school of fishes were being herded in their direction.

“Are those Veluriyam Snake Fishes? So many!”

A Phenomenon-class Stranger, a Veluriyam Snake Fish was a weak but extremely rare creature that usually lived tens of thousands of meters beneath the sea surface. They fed on seaweed and rarely appeared on shallow waters. That was why most people did not get to see them.

They did not have a comely appearance, but they tasted very delicious and fresh. One could say that they were a one-of-a-kind delicacy. It wasn’t just humans who enjoyed their taste, some Strangers were in love with them as well.

Because of the excessive fishing and feeding of humans and Strangers alike, the population of Veluriyam Snake Fishes was much smaller than what it was many years ago.

That was why they were astonished to find so many Veluriyam Snake Fishes. Well, everyone except Old Man Turtle.

Lingyu especially was staring at the fishes with wide eyes and an open mouth. Saliva was trickling down her mouth as well.

She had eaten a Veluriyam Snake Fish only once when she was younger, but she had never forgotten about its taste since. Alas, the Stranger was so rare that she couldn’t find one even if she wanted to.

But now, there was an entire school of Veluriyam Snake Fishes in front of them. She was going to eat until she was silly!

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“There’s too many Veluriyam Snake Fishes, Grandpa Turtle! I don’t think we can finish it all!”

“What are you thinking about? This isn’t for you or us!”

Old Man Turtle gave her a head pat. “This is for the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent.”

Lingyu looked at him in shock and disbelief when she heard that the fishes weren’t for them.

Are you serious? You’re giving away this delicacy to another? One who’s not even a human? Are my ears not working properly, or are you ill?

Ye Qing asked, “What is the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent, elder?”

“A powerful Stranger who lives in the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost.” Old Man Turtle purposely kept them in suspense. “You’ll find out very soon.”

As he spoke, Old Man Turtle lifted dozens of Veluriyam Snake Fishes into the air with his true qi and tossed them into the abyss.

About a teatime later, a strange noise came from the depths of the abyss. It sounded both like a serpent’s cry and a dragon’s roar.

“Here it comes!”

As if on cue, a gigantic creature burst through the fog and appeared before everyone.

The gigantic creature sported an odd appearance. It had a snake’s body, long and clawless, and it was covered in black scales. Its lower end was shaped like a fish’s tail, flat and wide. It had countless heads on its shoulders, and every head had a horn on its forehead.

The swarm of snake heads swayed like leaves under assault by a terrible storm. Its roar was such that even the fog that severed heaven and earth was temporarily halted in its tracks.